Monday, February 22, 2010

... and heading back home from Nashville! Still a bit tired, but this was a FANTASTIC Market! Kudos to those vendors and shops who attended ... and a BIG "Boy Did You Ever Miss Out" to those who didn't attend! I think this was one of my better markets .... fun wise, shopping wise, networking wise .. it was just great!

If you've not been following Ellen Chesters' blog (With My Needle), check it out ... great photos of her booth/room AND lots of pictures of shop owners ... its so neat to be able to put a face to a name or a voice! I got to meet Tracy of Ink Circles in person and some others too. Karen Kubla of Rosewood Manor took my 'silk gauze' class. She had an idea of something she wanted to do, but wasn't sure how she was going to be able to pull it off. After seeing how I stitch on gauze as though I were just doing cross stitch and NOT the needlepoint manner of filling in the background (I find different materials to mount behind the gauze so only the design is stitched .. and the tin foil, or fabric, or colored mat board is the 'background') ... Karen said she can go ahead with her plan for a new design and feels really confident about it! I was just 'honored' to have a designer in my class room!!!

Bringing back 3, count em ... 3 TRUNK SHOWS with me! All of Hinzeit's NEW designs, some of Amy Bruecken's newest (she'll bring the rest to Camp when she comes to teach), as well as some of Elizabeth's Designs stitched models! I'll find room in the shop for display as quickly as I can and then will be boxing them all up again to take to the "Stitches N Things On The Road Boutique" for Camp at the Comfort Inn in Davison. If you're going to be in the area of my shop between this coming weekend and March 17th, stop in and check them out!! If you're going to be in the Davison MI area March 19 - 21, you will want to stop by the Comfort Inn and see them on display there! I've also found LOTS of incredibly really neat stuff to 'stock' the Camp Boutique with - I'm excited!!

Now to continue adding to the website. I seem to have brought everything I needed for this task EXCEPT for my camera charger .. so as long as I can take pics and put them on from here in the van, I will. The rest will have to wait ... some of the limited edition stuffs ... until I can get back to the shop. A portable scanner is now on my Christmas List!!With that, I'd better get back to work! See you soon!

Friday, February 19, 2010

... at the Nashville Market! Dave and I are 'living' this weekend right in the 'middle' of the action ... floors 2, 3 & 4 and then floors 6 & 7 are the 'show' floors with each designer company in a room of their own ... totally remodeled into a little private store just for us to come shop in! Show officially opens tomorrow at 9am for shopping, but I had to meet with Claudia from Dutch Treat Designs this afternoon, so I got to go into her room early! What fun - how cool - all these new stitched pieces on display! Can't wait till I can spend money in there with her. Since there is such a problem getting the Anne cloth into this country right now, most of Claudia's new pieces are her stitched Victorian paper designs ... and you just gotta see these in person! You really do! In other words .. purchase them, stitch them up on perforated paper and TOTALLY WOW your friends and family members!!!

Last night got to spend time with friends, old and new, for several hours: Ellen from With My Needle, Miranda from The Stitching Post, Penny from Ewe Stitch, Carol and Jennie from Cross My Heart, Louise from Cherished Stitches, Karen from Rosewood Manor, and Donna from Satin Stitches. (Ellen did said I was NOT to say anything about 3 of us having 'sex on the beach' in my blog, but apparently .. I must have forgot that when I typed this! LOL)Taught my gauze class this morning, then had lunch. Did some meeting and greeting with friends and then up to the room to drop off my class models and left over kits. Then decided to sit down and 'chat' with you all a bit. Tonight at 7pm is the "meet and greet" with a preview of what some of the market exhibitors will be showing us tomorrow when shopping begins. That's always so much fun .. a madhouse to be sure, but F U N !!Have a Counted Thread Group Meeting at 8am tomorrow morning .. .then shopping begins! I keep getting all stressed out thinking how will I do all this and how will I get it all done and what if I miss something .... and then .... "deb - get a grip! This isn't exactly the first year you've been to a cash & carry market and you always get it done! And, unfortunately, there are some designers that are not here this year due to scheduling or family conflicts, so it won't be quite as crazed as it usually is! You'll be fine!! Go take a pill!" So I have my order cards ready and in order by room/floor number .. I know which ones I'm 'hitting' first, and know which ones I'm giving to Dave so he can go purchase for me (have to be very specific with Dave .. he has to have everything all written down so he can just smile and hand the card to someone, take the bag they give him, hand them the check, and leave .. all without having to say or explain anything! (Hey .. he's getting free room service foods here and all the TV he can watch .. he has to do some shopping things for me, right?!)

Anyway .. I'm excited .. I'll need to take a pill to sleep tonight .. this is like Christmas eve to a little one .. knowing that all the presents will be under the tree in the morning ready to dig into and then .. gift overload! Can't wait!

Monday, February 15, 2010

The GOOD: Just got the new images from Blue Ribbon Designs of her Nashville releases. Since this old computer at home 'lost' it's photo sizing capabilities in the BIG Crash Of '09, I'll have to wait until I get into the shop to add them to the What's New Page!

The BAD: Signed onto AOL weather to find out what the forcast would be for Nashville this week ...THU Mostly Sunny 41 25 -- FRI Partly Cloudy 46 35 -- SAT Showers 44 30 -- SUNPartly Cloudy 42 31Dare I tell Dave? He so looks forward to this Market trip because in Tennessee we get a 'glimpse' of grass getting green and a bit more 'balmy' temperatures. (sign)

The INCREDIBLE: Just saw the picture of the COMPLETED and FRAMED "Autumn At Hawk Run Hollow" being introduced at Market from The Carriage House! As absolutely incredible as her previous "Hawk Run" series .. but absolutely different in layout! Another must-have for ME!!!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentines Day!What a weekend it's been! I started off this past week needing at least one more week (even 3 more days would have been heavenly!) before I would have to leave for the Nashville Market .. just way too much to do to get the shop and myself ready. And then, as the week wound down with things still so hectic, Friday arrived with a phone call from Betsy. To hear of her husband Ken's diagnosis of cancer really floored me. Ken is so strong and this can't be happening, this can't be true. But it is. Betsy is a dear, dear friend, and over the years of her coming to teach at Camp, and seeing her at Markets, I've become so 'enamored' of Ken. We'd joke that he and I were running off together. She'd always give us her blessings .. Dave would just smile ... they know us too well it would seem. 5 days till leaving for Nashville .. less than 6 weeks till Camp. If you read my latest newsletter, you'll probably know how much her news affected me .. I couldn't think of anything to write about!Then, I go into the shop Saturday morning and the very first email I open is from Sharon Crescent, sent the night before upon 'her' reading my newsletter. She checked her schedule and asked if I would like her to come to Camp in Betsy's absence to teach a class! And just like that .. I had another designer coming to teach!

Finished up the day Saturday getting my class kits together for the silk gauze class I'll be teaching in Nashville; spent a few hours today cutting and sorting floss for the kits. Also spent a few hours making notes of what requests I have from stitchers for buying at Market. I'll be adding to THAT list Monday and Tuesday, and then the shop will have to email me nightly with any additions of what I am to purchase. Brought my file cases home from the shop and have to figure out where in the garage my roller cart is stashed; as well as the pull cart for Dave to get all the boxes and bags out of the hotel and into the van when shopping is done. Got laundry done too ... so that's another step closer to leaving. Shoot ... I JUST realized I'd not yet called the Kennel to make arrangements for Nick while we're gone; LouAnn will be coming in daily to check on Mocha and Padme so they don't have to be caged. Tomorrow have to remember to pull together all the stitched silk gauze models in the shop that I'm going to take with me as 'examples', and pack them up too. THEN I think I may be ready!I'm sure something else will occur to me .. it always does!